California repeals provision criminalizing vagrancy related to possible prostitution
« While I agree with the author’s intent and sign this legislation, we must be careful about its implementation, » Newsom wrote in the letter. « My administration will monitor crime and prosecution trends for potential unintended consequences and will act to mitigate those impacts. »
Proponents of the bill say the previous law has long discriminated against transgender people and people of color because law enforcement is allowed to use its own discretion in what constitutes vagrancy.
The new version of the law does not decriminalize soliciting or prostitution. Instead, it eliminates the offense of vagrancy « which leads to the detrimental treatment of people for merely ‘appearing’ to be a sex worker, » reads a statement from the bill’s sponsor, Senator Scott. Vienna.
« This crime is so subjective and inherently profiling that it allows a police officer to arrest someone based solely on how they are dressed, whether they wear high heels and certain types of makeup, how they wear her hair and the like, » Wiener said in the statement. « This criminal provision is inherently discriminatory and does not target people for any action, but simply based on their appearance. »
The law is expected to come into force on January 1, 2023.
Legislation receives mixed reactions from advocates
Meanwhile, some who work to prevent human trafficking say the law will inevitably increase the demand for people in prostitution.
« If enacted, SB 357 would significantly limit law enforcement’s ability to identify victims of human trafficking, even if the victims are minors, » said Stephany Powell, director of law enforcement training. law enforcement and survivor services at NCOSE. « Many officers rely on vagrancy laws to initiate trafficking investigations that have led to serious convictions for traffickers and pimps. »
CNN has reached out to NCOSE for comment on the legislation being enacted.
The Los Angeles-based Coalition for the Abolition of Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), another anti-trafficking group, claimed that repealing the previous provision would ensure that police follow due process.
Eliminating this section of the law deters police from relying on « bias rather than evidence to criminalize otherwise lawful activities like walking, dressing or standing in public, and leads to harassment of communities LGTBQ+, black and brown to just look like a ‘sex worker’ to law enforcement, » CAST told CNN in a statement.
“The arrest of sex workers or people perceived to be sex workers creates environments in which people, including survivors, will be arrested and creates barriers to accessing safe housing, legal employment and to an overall quality of life, » the organization said, noting that it ultimately makes it harder to get resources to the people who need them.
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